Wireholders are often used to secure wires to a structure. For example, when a building having an electrical meter is to be provided with electrical service from an overhead electrical power utility pole, one or more insulated high voltage conductors and a usually uninsulated ground conductor are run from the overhead electrical power utility pole to the electrical meter of the building. However, before these conductors are connected to the electrical meter, they are anchored to the building in order to minimize stress on the connection point at which the conductors are connected to the electrical meter.
In order to provide an anchor for the conductors, a wireholder is attached to the building, usually near its roof. The high voltage conductors are twisted around the ground conductor (which is sometimes referred to as a messenger), and a wedge clamp, having a loop of wire, is clamped to the ground conductor. The loop of wire of the wedge clamp has two ends. One of these ends is released from the wedge clamp, is threaded through the wireholder attached to the side of the building, and is reattached to the wedge clamp with enough tension that the wireholder isolates the connection point of the conductors and the electrical meter from most stress.
One example of a wireholder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,295,872. This wireholder, as is typical of wireholders in the prior art, comprises a porcelain body affixed to an attachment device such as a wood screw. The porcelain body has a hole therethrough for receiving a wire to be held by the wireholder.
There are several problems with this type of wireholder. For example, since porcelain is brittle, rough handling during shipment of a porcelain wireholder often results in chipping and/or breakage of the wireholder's porcelain. Furthermore, since the porcelain of a wireholder can also chip and break during installation of a wireholder, the selection of porcelain for a wireholder virtually precludes the use of power tools to install a porcelain wireholder.